Sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate is the chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3&period; Sodium bicarbonate is a white solid that is crystalline but often appears as a fine powder&period; It has a slightly salty&comma; alkaline taste resembling that of washing soda &lpar;sodium carbonate&rpar;&period; The natural mineral form is nahcolite&period; It is a component of the mineral natron and is found dissolved in many mineral springs&period; It is among the food additives encoded by European Union&comma; identified by the initials E 500&period; Since it has long been known and is widely used&comma; the salt has many related names such as baking soda&comma; bread soda&comma; cooking soda&comma; and bicarbonate of soda&period; In colloquial usage&comma; its name is sometimes shortened to sodium bicarb&comma; bicarb soda&comma; simply bicarb&comma; or even bica&period; The word saleratus&comma; from Latin sal æratus meaning aerated salt&comma; was widely used in the 19th century for both sodium bicarbonate and potassium bicarbonate&period; The term has now fallen out of common usage&period; Sodium bicarbonate is usually called baking soda in general terms&period;

ApplicationsSodium bicarbonate is used in a process for removing paint and corrosion called sodablasting&semi; the process is particularly suitable for cleaning aluminium panels which can be distorted by other types of abrasive&period; It can be administered to pools&comma; spas&comma; and garden ponds to raise pH levels&period; It has weak disinfectant properties&comma; and it may be an effective fungicide against some organisms&period;Because baking soda will absorb musty smells&comma; it has become a reliable method for used-book sellers when making books less malodorous&period;